Fantasy Hockey Mailbag - January 23rd-26th Edition
 

For the next four days, ask your questions here. My answers will come at night each day, for the most part.

Some general rules:

- Avoid long lists if possible
- The more context and the more specific question, the better

What are your thoughts so far on Justin Schultz? For a keeper league like the one in my sig would you consider moving Bobby Ryan for Schultz? I'm deep on D but could make a move or 2 after

Is Brendan Smith still a good pick for this year (G and A only) considering his TOI so far. (he was a 5th-6 dman)

2nd team in SIG.

Do you think it's time to trade Sedin & Thornton ? Not a lot of market for Ribeiro..

I feel like this could be my last chance at getting fair value for them in a trade.

I'm in a pool where goalies are more valuable than skaters. We can have two on our roster and I currently have Lundy and Howard, with Lindback on my farm team.

I would love to cash in on Howard by trading him for a skater and moving Lindback up to the big team but I wonder if Howard's bad start is a minor setback and whether Lindback can be the guy in TB.

I guess I'm just looking for your thoughts on the difference between Howard and Lindback. Personally, I feel like Lindback could be the better goalie.

The Coyotes seem to be splitting their offensive production around quite a bit. I've noticed that there are several wingers from their teams available in most of my leagues (similar settings to my league in my sig). What sort of production for this season do you see from guys like Vermette, Sullivan, Korpikoski, Boedker?

Two questions.
1. 15-team 30 player keeper league. Play-off counts. Pts heavy, but +/-, PIM and Shots also included. Want to offer my Conacher, Hamilton and Franzen for his Callahan, Seidenberg and A.McDonald - hope to win it now. Dont need keepers - for example in defence I have Shattenkirk, Keith, del Zotto, Letang, Faulk - and can keep only 4.
Do Callahan, Seidenberg and A.McDonald give me better chance this year (play-off!)? Or is it better to propose this trade without Hamilton and Seidenberg for example?

2. In league with multiple categories (incl. Hits, Blk, ATOI) I need one rookie to keep for 2 years. According our rules both Z.Kassian and K.Palmieri are rookies. Who is better - for THIS year and NEXT only (talent, opportunity, points, secondary categories)? Or N.Cadri, who plays in first PP in Toronto and gives FOW as LW, is the best choice? Need LW actually and Kassian is RW only.

I will be very grateful for detailed answer (espessially 2nd question). Thanks!

1-Neal vs Ovie
 

For the league in sig.
Points only. No position. 6 keepers.
Is a trade of J.Neal for A.Ovechkin really a no-brainer?
I know AO carries a lot more value. He's the big name.
But, at the end of the year, the winner of the league is the one with most points, not better value...
Last year, Neal outpointed AO by 16.

2-Yandle in PHO
 

Do you feel OEL passed Yandle on the depth chart?
Stats for this year indicate that it is a yes.
More toi, more pptoi, more points.
In a game this week (Sunday, vs Hawks), Yandle had the least toi among all D-men of Phoenix (18:26).
He's rank 2nd D-man on Dobber's 300-players fantasy ranking.
But, do you think the same?

3-Neal + Yandle for Ovechkin + Phaneuf
 

So, here we are: trade offer.
A gm asked for Yandle this summer, before declaring keepers.
The same gm keeps asking for Neal twice a day since start of season (I acquired JN during draft).
He owns Ovechkin. It's the only asset he has for me to move Neal.
To boost Neal's value I could include Yandle in the deal.
I need a replacement for my D, so Phaneuf would be coming back my way.
Yandle carries more value than Phaneuf here. Value again...
Wich side do you pick?
Neal + Yandle
or
Ovechkin + Phaneuf

Thank you Jeff!